heroes and thieves
by pengiechan
Summary: After two years away, she's not sure what's right anymore - if she's the heroine of the story or destined to be written out of it. A nameless woman struggles to find herself while her hero fights for his life. AyumuxHiyono, takes place post-manga. In progress, ch9 up.
1. prologue

**author's note: **I am currently in the middle of celebrating my **tenth anniversary** as a fan of Spiral. Wow!

I have actually wanted to write this fanfiction for almost three years. Ever since the manga ended, I have had a desire to "explain" Hiyono's actions and thoughts - and find a way to carve out both her future and Ayumu's. There's also the matter of explaining exactly how future events from my Spiral headcanon - namely "endroll" - become possible. So, here we are.

Please be aware that there are some manga spoilers here, as well as speculation on past events that might run the risk of being trumped by something I missed in canon. But otherwise... I hope you enjoy my story, fellow Spiral fan. :)

Fic title and some chapter titles are from Vanessa Carlton's _Heroes and Thieves_ album.

* * *

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter one - prologue

* * *

It's a rainy morning in early April. Narumi Kiyotaka sits in a booth along the wall of a small diner, drinking deeply from a mug of coffee. And across from him, on the other side of the booth, a young woman absently twists the long strands of her blonde hair into a braid.

The tall detective sitting across from her hasn't said anything, and the young woman is glad for that. She called him here for a reason - well, a few reasons, really, but one _important_ reason - yet is having trouble finding her words. Kiyotaka is still technically her boss, after all. She's never really been afraid of him, but in this specific situation, she's worried about what he'll say.

Specifically, she's worried that he'll say "no." And then her whole plan, her ideas, her carefully thought-out map for the next few months, will all be for nothing. And the two years she's spent in Tokyo will be for nothing, too. And -

"Yui."

She looks up, suddenly, because the detective _has_ said something. And the entire right side of her hair is almost completely braided.

"Sorry." Kiyotaka smiles, steepling his fingers together over the now empty coffee cup on the table. "You looked very deep in thought. I don't mean to rush you, but..."

"O - oh. No, it's... it's not a problem. I understand." She releases her hair with a sigh, and it falls to rest against her shoulder, the fine strands loosening and releasing most of the braid. "I realize that you have to be at work very soon, so..."

"For a moment, I wondered if you'd forgotten your name. I was trying to get your attention for quite some time." He chuckles. "I suppose it has been a very long time since we've used it."

"... ah," she murmurs, glancing away from him. She's been Yui, last name unknown, a former orphan and ward of Japan, contract employee to Narumi Kiyotaka for something like nineteen years, and Yuizaki Hiyono for only one. But somehow it seems like the last twelve months have been the most important.

"Well." Kiyotaka's voice is soft, almost understanding, as if he knows what kind of thoughts are running through her head right now. "Have you called me here to end your contract? Our time is almost up, after all, and now that your job has ended - "

"No," she says, quickly, and looks back to him. "I... actually, I would like to ask if I could - no, for a favor."

"A favor?"

"Yes, I... truthfully, I..." She swallows down the lump in her throat. "I know that there is... research to be done, now. And that your remaining funds will go toward..." She swallows again, but it's useless, the lump won't go away, and there's a twinge of pain low in the pit of her stomach when she finally speaks _his_ name. "... toward Narumi-san's health."

"Oh, yes." Kiyotaka nods, smiling again. "That is the plan."

"I... I would like to help. In any way possible." She closes her eyes tight and bows the best she can, her ribcage banging against the edge of the table. "Please."

The detective is silent for a moment. She doesn't know if he's surprised, or if he's been expecting this question all along. Knowing him the way she does, she's sure he's anticipated something like this. But whether or not he'll agree -

"Hmmm." When she opens her eyes again, she sees that a waitress has arrived at their table to refill Kiyotaka's mug. He grins and nods his head in thanks as she turns to walk away, and when he looks back at the blonde across the table, the grin hasn't faded at all. "I wonder," he begins, lifting the cup of fresh coffee to his mouth, "do you speak any German, Yui?"

"... _eh_?"


	2. my best I

**author's note: **Just to eliminate any possible confusion, this chapter begins the "real" story. This takes place a few weeks after the last chapter of the manga.

Enjoy!

* * *

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter two - my best (part I)

* * *

_two years later_

* * *

She's getting tired of dreaming in German.

The elevator doors close with a dull thud, and as her trip to the upper floors of the hospital begins, Yui tries - and fails - to stifle a yawn. Although she's been back in Tokyo for nearly a week, the jet lag still hasn't quite gone away. It doesn't help that the apartment Kiyotaka secured for her is on a busy street, and the sound of pedestrians, cars, and motorcycles keeps her awake well into the night. And when she _does_ finally sleep, her dreams are a muddled mix of physicians and research, all in German with the occasional drop of English.

Well, she thinks, rubbing her eyes with her free hand, the other tightening around the bouquet of daffodils she's carrying, at least she's not having dreams about _him_. But maybe that's because she has the real thing now.

Sort of.

The elevator doors slide open with a polite little ding, and she steps out into the quiet hallway, her low heels clicking on the floor. Though she's only been here once before, she's studied the map enough times to know where Narumi Ayumu's hospital room is. And if she somehow managed to forget, she could always ask. Anyone would be able to tell her the answer. _Excuse me, where is the room of the patient with a piano by his bed?_

Kiyotaka is waiting outside when she arrives, tapping away at the buttons on his cell phone. When he notices her, he shuts the device quickly and folds it closed, clearing his throat. "Well," he greets her, keeping his voice low, "it should be finished by this afternoon. Your contract will be officially terminated."

She forces a smile, but that's as much as she'll give him. "Thank you."

"You may not believe me, but my intention was not to keep you away for so long." He glances at the closed door beside them. "Things simply... progressed... faster than I expected."

"I understand."

"And - "

"But," she interrupts him, reaching for the handle of the door, "that_ doesn't_ mean I have to forgive you."

The detective sighs, shaking his head, and as she enters Ayumu's hospital room, she sees him flip open his phone again as he begins to walk away. She knows that she's being slightly ridiculous about this - and that it was, in fact, absolutely necessary for her to be abroad for the entirety of two years. But she also knows that she asked to come back a year ago and wasn't even told about the decline in Ayumu's health (or Hizumi's death). And that is one of the many reasons she has for being absolutely and utterly_ infuriated_ with Narumi Kiyotaka right now.

"Ah. You're back."

... but, she thinks, and turns her head to look into the face of a nineteen-year-old brown-haired young man in a hospital bed, one hand on the keys of a piano, she can't be _too_ mad. Because he's not keeping her away, after all.

"I brought flowers, Narumi-san!" she announces, shutting the door behind her with a smile. "I hope you aren't allergic."

"Hn," he grunts, and looks at the piano instead of her. "Why are you here?"

"Oh? Didn't I tell you I'd come by again soon?" She keeps her tone cheerful, walking to the small table that sits on one side of his bed. It's neatly stacked with books, folders (presumably with sheet music inside), a few pens, and a lamp - and, she notices, a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. She shuffles all these items carefully to one side, unwrapping the protective cellophane around the daffodils. "I bought a vase, so you don't have to worry about that. Now if anyone brings you flowers, they'll have somewhere to put them. Isn't that nice?"

He's still looking at the piano. "Hn."

"Well, you really haven't changed very much in two years," she continues, smiling to herself as she places the vase on the table and carefully re-arranges the flowers within. "That's the Narumi-san I remember, after all. Always answering me with "hn" or "ah" or "stupid girl.""

"And you're still calling me "Narumi-san.""

"Hmm? Is there something else I should be calling you?" She glances at him before turning her attention back to the flowers. "Isn't that the polite way to address you?"

"It's annoying."

"Oh, is it?"

"It is." She straightens and turns around, opening her mouth to respond, but this time he's looking at her, frowning slightly, almost squinting, and her train of thought comes to a screeching halt. There's something he wants to say, she thinks - and she's right. "Where were you?" he asks, his voice low.

She swallows, but there's a lump in her throat all of a sudden, one that she thinks won't be going away anytime soon. "Wh - what do you mean?"

"Not that it's any of my business." He looks away again. "But everyone made a big deal out of it, assuring me you hadn't run away."

"Oh. Well, I... I had another job to do. And..." She folds her hands together, wondering if she should be closer to him. This distance between them feels cold, somehow. "... and it kept me busy."

"Another job," he repeats. "For my brother?"

"Yes," she admits.

"So he's still controlling you?"

"Not anymore," she responds, softly, and can't quite keep herself from smiling. Ayumu turns his head and looks at her again - looks at her _hard_, almost as if he's trying to figure out if she's lying - and there's a long pause before she thinks of something else to say. Something she _has_ to say. "Although my contract is being dissolved, I've agreed not to disclose the details of my job. It's _not_ as if I did anything - um, illegal, or bad, or anything like that. But it was some very sensitive... material. And - "

"It's a trade secret," he interrupts, and for just a moment she swears he smiles. He shifts in his bed, turning his face toward the nearest window, and the sunny spring morning covers his body in light. "I suppose I don't really have to know," he continues, "just as long as you did your best while you were out there."

"I did," she responds, softly, taking a few steps closer to his bed, studying the way the sunlight falls on his face, the way his profile seems to have changed so little and yet so much in the last two years. He's older, now, and so is she, but somehow, in some ways, it doesn't feel like any time has passed at all, like they're right back to where they were before everything changed.

But things _have_ changed.

"I'm tired," he announces, suddenly, and yawns as if to prove it. "Go away and let me get some sleep. The nurses had me up all night doing blood tests again."

"Go - go away?" she sputters, eyes wide. "But I - I just got here!"

"And?" He looks over his shoulder at her, lifting an eyebrow. "I didn't know you were coming. You're still showing up unannounced and uninvited."

She clenches her jaw. "I thought you might be happy to see me again."

"Have I _ever_ been happy to see you?"

"Narumi-_san_."

He laughs. He actually laughs. It's a short laugh, and she almost mistakes it for a cough, but the sound is good and warm and welcome, and it fills her with some strange, vaguely familiar kind of happiness. "Come back tomorrow," he says, with a nod and a brief wave of his hand, followed by a pointed look at the bright yellow daffodils on his bedside table. "And make sure you water those things. If I manage to get out of bed today, it won't be to keep your flowers alive."

And she is so stunned by his invitation to come back again, so caught off guard by the sound of his laughter, that she can do nothing else but quietly agree, turn around, and walk out of the room.


	3. my best II

**author's note: **There is a Spiral Alive reference in this chapter, so if you don't understand the "first favor" to Kiyotaka I mention, that might be why. If you _have_ read Spiral Alive and missed it, look again, closely - someone very familiar makes her first appearance in that series. :)

* * *

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter three - my best (part II)

* * *

She's given a lot of thought to Yuizaki Hiyono over the last two years.

Kiyotaka had caught wind of her reputation when she was fourteen. As Yui, she was an almost permanent ward of the state, rejected from no less than three foster homes for bad behavior. Most children who were sent back to the orphanage had been caught stealing, or attempted to harm their foster parents and siblings. But _her_ crime was always hacking. With a laptop at her disposal and nothing better to do, she'd developed programming skills that could make even the most experienced developer feel inferior.

The detective had arrived at the orphanage in Kansai one evening, unannounced, and asked politely to see her skills. She'd shown him a few things - but nothing that would get her in trouble - and after twenty minutes, he'd asked her age. "Yui-chan," he'd said gently, upon her response, "I'd like to ask you for a favor for now. But in a few years, I will have a job for you."

That first favor - to appear as a fortune teller in the vicinity of those she later recognized as Blade Children - led to several more. He'd given her a few hundred yen for each instance, along with a cell phone on which he could contact her. At first he only requested her assistance once every two or three months, but as she grew and her skills continued to develop, the favors came in every week. She only realized later, much later, that some of the research and hacking jobs she'd taken on helped his cases or aided the police in some manner.

And as promised, when she turned eighteen, Kiyotaka had arrived to assign her a job. "Today," he'd said, a sunny smile on his handsome face, "you'll be taking the train back with me. We're going to give you a new name, and then we're going to enroll you in Tsukiomi Gakuen."

Yui, who also happened to be a high school dropout, had stared at him as if he had two heads. She'd debated saying no. But then he'd offered her a monthly pension and her own apartment, and she'd really had no choice.

It took a full year of school and living alone in Tokyo until she learned that she - now Yuizaki Hiyono - had one very simple job: get close to Kiyotaka's younger brother, Ayumu, and support him in his efforts. That was all. And yet, that simple job had become so complex, so dangerous, so... _important_, by the end.

And when it came time to finish it, she'd been shocked to realize that she _didn't want to_.

She leans against the back wall of the hospital elevator as the doors close, shutting her eyes and rehearsing the lines again._ Narumi-san, there is something I want to tell you. And it's very important. Although Kiyotaka-san gave me the name Yuizaki Hiyono, I was never acting. Everything that I did to support you was from my heart. So, moving forward, I'd like you to understand that I have always been honest -_

The elevator slowly comes to a stop on a lower floor, and Yui opens her eyes. When the doors slide apart, she is just as surprised to see Narumi Madoka as the detective is to see her.

"_Oh_!" The blonde straightens, absently brushing off the front of her blouse and skirt, as if she's worried some stray crumb or thread might offend the older woman. "M - Madoka-oneesan, it's been ... a while."

"What a nice surprise." Madoka's smile is surprisingly warm, and she steps into the elevator, glancing at the panel on the right side. "Going up?"

"Y - yes."

"To Ayumu's room, right?" The doors shut, and that's when Yui notices Madoka carrying a paper cup of coffee with a lid, a purse slung over her opposite arm with a small paper bag peeking out of the top. "I just stopped for breakfast. It's a beautiful day, isn't it? Far too nice to be stuck at a desk solving petty crimes."

"Y - yes, the sunshine was very ... pretty this morning."

"I thought I'd give myself the day off and clean Ayumu's room. He keeps his area neat, but the places that he can't reach, well..." Madoka sighs and shakes her head as the elevator makes its way up again, slowing its ascent as it comes close to the selected floor. "It wouldn't be so bad if he didn't kick out the cleaning staff every time they make an appearance. He's so picky about who comes in his room."

"Narumi-san is?" The side of Yui's mouth turns up in a smile. "That isn't so surprising."

"He's not exactly a favorite patient here. Say, you heard about Hizumi, right?" The older woman turns her head to look down at the blonde, one navy eyebrow arched. "Ayumu's been asking to visit his grave. But it's a little too far from the hospital, and he's not well enough to go outside right now anyway. If you have a chance, could you put some flowers on it?"

"Oh... of course, Madoka-oneesan." Yui smiles. "If you can give me the location, I'll pay Hizumi-kun's grave a visit. I was meaning to anyway. I have a feeling I should thank him, after all."

"I've been thanking him a lot." The elevator doors have opened, and both women proceed into the hallway, walking in the direction of Ayumu's room. "The research performed on his body was invaluable. I know there's been other research and testing done outside of that - at least, that's what Kiyotaka-san told me - but there's now some hope that we can slow or even stop the deterioration of his left side. And in the best case scenario, there may be a chance to reverse some of the damage." There's a long pause, their silence broken only by the sound of nurses speaking in hushed tones at a nearby station; when the older woman speaks again, it's after a long sip of her coffee. "I suppose we'll know the kinds of odds he's facing once he's out of surgery today - "

Yui nearly trips over her own two feet, and barely manages to continue walking. "Wh - _what_? Su - _surgery_?!"

"He didn't tell you?" Madoka only raises one eyebrow, because maybe it's not really a surprise, to her, that he didn't. "On his arm. They're trying to repair some of the nerve damage, something involving cells and injections and... ah, it's way too complicated for me. Kiyotaka-san understood it, though."

"Axons," she says, softly, and before the older woman can ask she forces a smile and nods. "That's ... it's okay. I'll come back in a few days. But please, Madoka-oneesan, if you could pass Narumi-san a message from me, I - "

"You can tell him yourself," Madoka interrupts, and her smile isn't forced, "tomorrow. He'll be allowed visitors in the morning."

Yui opens her mouth, closes it, then sighs. "That Narumi-san," she murmurs, "telling me to come back and see him today... if he knew he was having surgery, then..."

"Well, maybe he just forgot. Or maybe he wanted to make sure you watered his flowers." Madoka grins, sliding open the door to Ayumu's room - and sure enough it is empty, quiet and dark thanks to the curtains having been pulled shut, but even in the dim light Yui can see her yellow daffodils blooming in their vase on the table. "But I'll take care of them, Hiyono-chan. I'm sure you have more important things to - " She stops, suddenly, looking back at the blonde. "I'm sorry," she says, more quietly than before, "I just realized - I don't really know your name, do I?"

And the younger woman speaks without thinking, smiling, because it's the first time in two years that anyone has called her by _that_ name, and all at once she's remembered just how good it felt to have it. "For now," she says, turning on one heel to leave, "Hiyono is fine."


	4. my best III

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter four - my best (part III)

* * *

She waits until the afternoon to visit him. The sky is clouding over and it looks like rain is on the way, but her mood is no less sunny.

"Hello, Narumi-san!"

He grunts in response. She crosses the room to his bed, glancing once at the daffodils on his bedside table. There's a chair beside him and she settles into it, crossing her legs and smoothing out her messy hair. "How was your surgery?" she asks.

"Fine."

"Any complications?"

"No." He isn't looking at her; his left arm, covered mostly in bandages and attached to an IV, lies still by his side, and his right hand holds a book that his nose is nearly buried in. "Except for neesan lecturing me this morning."

"Oh?" She smiles. "Because you forgot to tell me about your surgery?"

"I didn't forget." She sees him frown. "You would have been worked up over it. I didn't see any reason to say anything."

"Hmm. So… you were trying to keep me from worrying?"

"... something like that."

"Well, thank you." He glances her way - finally - and she brightens her smile. "I'm glad you are recovering now. Do you know what will happen after this?"

"Hn." His gaze shifts to his left arm. "I'll start physical therapy in a few days. And there will be steroids and medications administered to support the surgery." His eyes move back to his book. "If I respond well to treatment, I may regain some movement."

"That's wonderful!"

"If you can call taking fifteen pills a day wonderful."

She falters, her lips parting, and can't quite keep the smile from leaving her mouth. He notices her change in expression, glancing at her again for barely a second. "Don't get your hopes up," he says. "Even with all the research my brother's put in, and the tests conducted on Hizumi's body, it will be difficult to reverse the degeneration."

"Don't you…" She purses her lips. "Don't you want to… fight, Narumi-san?"

"Ah." He flips a page with his thumb, repositioning the book in his hand. "I've fought enough. I set an example so that the Blade Children could defeat their curse. The probability of my survival past age twenty is less than five percent. And the quality of life I would have even with that chance - "

"But don't you want to fight for that?" Her voice is unsteady. "Not for the Blade Children, anymore, but - don't you want to live?"

He sighs. "This is why I didn't want to tell you."

"Narumi-san, please - "

"I know everyone wants me to defy the odds." He turns his head to meet her eyes with his own, speaking slowly and clearly. "But I can't fight forever. If my body gives up, I want to die in peace."

She feels her hands begin to tremble, and curls her fingers until freshly painted nails dig into her palms. "You're right." she says. "Many people care about Narumi-san, and want him to live a long and happy life. We want you to defy the odds - that much is true. But if you don't want to fight, for yourself, then…" She stares down at her knees. "... then … we can't force you. But I've never known Narumi-san to face such improbable odds and simply give up. I would expect that from anyone else, but not you…"

"Is that why you came back here?" She hears him snort. "To give me a pep talk?"

"I - "

"You've always been something like my personal cheerleader. But that kind of devotion ends with your contract to my brother. If it's dissolved, you can stop pretending to care."

Her head snaps up; anger swells up in her chest, and she draws in a sharp breath, raising her voice. "_Pretending_?"

He calmly flips another page in his book. "Even two years later, you're still playing a part. I thought that time away would have snapped you out of it."

She stands so quickly that she nearly knocks over the chair; it teeters dangerously on its back legs before settling back down, wood smacking hard on glossy tile. "I never - "

"Don't lie to me," he interrupts, "anymore." His voice is firm, dark, completely unlike him. "And if you plan on going on going on another life-saving mission to Europe, or making some kind of scientific career for yourself out of my disease, you might as well stay away from me from now on."

She stares at him, mouth open, for nearly a minute. The anger gradually chills and dies, dropping low into her stomach. When she finally realizes that he has no intention of speaking to her again, she slowly - reluctantly - turns and walks to the door. And behind her, she hears Ayumu flip another page, the low hum of the IV machine the only other noise in his room, and that's how she leaves it, leaves _him_ - quiet, cold, and alone.

* * *

Since childhood, Yui has been a calm, collected, positive person. She rarely raises her voice, even in times of stress or anger. Even so, it's hard for her not to scream into her phone when Kiyotaka answers her call.

"_What did you tell him_?!"

The detective is quiet for only a few seconds - but that's too long, to her. "We... should talk, Yui."


	5. my best IV

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter five - my best (part IV)

* * *

She knows she can't blame Kiyotaka for telling him. But she does anyway.

"I had no idea he would react this way." The detective is frowning into a cup of coffee, steam rising nearly to the tip of his nose. His office is quiet - she's never visited him at work before, she realizes - but she can hear footsteps and conversation somewhere outside, beyond the closed door. "Before his surgery, his physician told him about the gene therapy process. He explained that the technology had been investigated and experimented with abroad." The tall man sighs. "This morning, Ayumu asked me what I had sent you away to do, and what it had to do with his surgery. I thought he would be appreciative."

"He seemed…" Yui presses her knees tight together, folding her hands on top of them. "... upset, with me."

"He said that he should have been asked about the research before it was done. That it should have been his choice to undergo the surgery, not mine." Kiyotaka shakes his head. "That you shouldn't have been dragged into it again."

"I wasn't… dragged in. I was the one who volunteered…"

"I explained that. I told him that you had greatly aided the research into the regeneration of axons, and that your actions directly led to the new technology and procedures used in his surgery."

"I…" She stares at her hands, feeling helpless and sad. "I upset him. Maybe I… maybe I _should_ have asked, before I - "

"No." He shakes his head again. "When you left, Ayumu knew that we wanted to fight for him. He knew we felt that it was owed to him, based on all that he accomplished. There were no objections, back then." He lets out a breath. "However, I fear that… without my noticing, something has changed. Based on what he has said to me… he seems tired. It is a hard fight that he has been going through, and it will only get harder. I asked a psychiatrist to visit with him this week, assuming that he may be depressed. But knowing him as I do, I doubt that he will speak with anyone about his feelings."

"He said that…" She swallows. "That he can't fight forever… and that if his body gives up, he wants to - to - " These words, these terrible words, are so hard for her to say. "... die in peace."

"Ah." Kiyotaka lifts his cup of coffee to his mouth, seems to think better of it, and places it back on his desk again. "Truthfully… Ayumu may feel as if there is nothing left for him to fight for."

"Why?"

"The Blade Children are living comfortable lives. Madoka and I have reconciled our… well, _my_ differences. And you are safe, released from my contract." He shakes his head slowly. "At the end of everything, he wanted nothing more. Now that all of this has been accomplished, what is left for him to desire?"

"Why doesn't he…" She struggles to put her words together, to give voice to her cloudy, jumbled thoughts; she finally meets his eyes with hers, and something about the way he looks at her makes her feel sad, helpless, almost ruined. "He… doesn't want to live for his own sake…?"

"Ever since the very beginning, Ayumu has desired almost nothing for himself." His voice is quiet. "He needs a reason to fight. A reason to seek the happiness that everyone around him has found. But living for the sake of being alive isn't enough motivation, right now. And based on what he said to you… I fear that it may never be."

She lowers her head and is silent. Tears burn behind her eyes, but she does her best to fight them off, promising herself that she can cry later, when she's alone, not now and not ever in front of him of all people. "What can…" she whispers, "... what can I do?"

Kiyotaka seems to think about this. He finally drinks from his cup, one sip followed by several more, and it's after he sets his mug down on the desk again that he answers. "Two years ago," he says, "you were the most important person in the world to him. Even after he realized the truth, he cared deeply about you - beyond what even he expected." He pauses. "I suppose it would be inappropriate to ask how you felt about him, in return - "

"Highly," she interjects, but the word comes out sad and strained instead of angry.

"... but even so, Yui, if there is any kind of chance to inspire him again… it would come from you. You are the person who knows him best, even now. And whether your reason for wanting him to live is selfish or unselfish, or some combination of both, I am sure that you could find a way to grant him the happiness he is missing."

She doesn't know what to say to him. Since she's come back to Japan, she's been made speechless so many times, left so many conversations abruptly, without warning. It's as if she's forgotten how to cope with emotions, she thinks. And maybe she has. Luckily, it's then that Kiyotaka's phone rings and he answers, forcing enthusiasm into his voice, and she takes that opportunity to slip quietly away.

She only makes it halfway through the walk home before she bursts into tears. And everything she ever felt about Yuizaki Hiyono, about her role as the constant companion to a messy-haired boy with the mind of a genius and logic that could never be broken, comes flooding back to her from its shallow, half-heartedly dug grave.

She never did get to say those words to him.

_Although Kiyotaka-san gave me the name Yuizaki Hiyono, I was never acting. Everything that I did to support you was from my heart. So, moving forward, I'd like you to understand that I have always been honest with you. And no matter what happens, Narumi-san, I want to be by your side. Because that's the thing I want most in this world._


	6. come undone

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter six - come undone

* * *

She's never quite admitted to herself that she loves him.

She came close, once before, just after they'd said goodbye. She'd stood there and watched him walk away, his earring clasped in one of her hands, and she'd cried until she thought her eyes would run dry. She'd sworn early on that she wouldn't feel anything for him, that she would never do anything as unprofessional as developing feelings for the person she was supposed to be watching -

But she had. She would admit that much, then, and she'll admit that much now. But she won't say that she loves him, because it wouldn't be right. Because he wouldn't want it.

That's what she tells herself, anyway.

It's pouring when she makes it to the hospital, out of breath from running, Kiyotaka's words still practically ringing in her ears. _Ayumu collapsed. He's not responding to the treatment. Can you come?_ Under normal circumstances, she knows he wouldn't be admitted visitors, but these are not normal circumstances.

She leans against the back of the elevator as it ascends, panting, her umbrella hanging by her side and dripping all over the floor. She doesn't want to think that this is it. That this is the end. That he's giving up the fight. She's only been back a little while, and she never got the chance to say those words to him, the words burning a hole in her heart.

But this isn't about her. She knows that. It is about him. About the person she would give anything to spend her life with.

Kiyotaka and Madoka are speaking quietly outside of his room when she arrives; she slows her pace as she makes her way up the hallway, not wanting to interrupt - or to seem desperate. When they notice her, Kiyotaka clears his throat, turning away from his wife with a grim expression. "He's resting now."

"Is he…" There are a hundred ways she could end that sentence and she doesn't like any of them.

"He'll probably be alright." Madoka answers, glancing once at the closed door of Ayumu's room. "Physically, that is. He hasn't been himself since the surgery, and…" She shakes her head, slowly, something in her expression hinting at helplessness. "He's not… fighting, anymore."

Yui swallows. "May I see him?"

"If anyone can talk some sense into him, it would be you." Madoka steps aside. "Please."

"Thank you," the younger woman responds, and slides open the door to enter the room. She hesitates when she sees him - when she sees the sleeve of a hospital gown rolled up to make room for IVs and bandages spotted with blood, when she sees the paleness of his skin, when she sees the dust cover closed on his piano - but she presses forward, closing the door behind her. "Narumi-san," she says, softly, carefully, "it's… me."

She's surprised to hear him respond; his eyes are closed but he is awake, breathing evenly, an oxygen line discarded around his neck. "I thought I sent you away for good."

"You should know you can't get rid of me that easily," she tries to joke. She walks slowly to his bedside; she notices that her daffodils are gone from the table, but the vase remains, and she makes a mental note to bring more flowers. If she can. "Kiyotaka-san asked me to visit you, so I… wanted to see how you were feeling…"

"Fine."

"_Fine_?"

"As bad as this looks, I can't feel much of anything." His voice is flat, almost dull. "I fell on the way back from the restroom this morning. It isn't anything you should be concerned about."

"Narumi-san, you can't stop me from being concerned."

"Hn. Unfortunately."

"And you can't send me away for good, either." She shakes her head even though he's not watching, looking down at him in the bed and wondering if he has always been so skinny, if his face has always been so drawn. And she knows the answers, but she doesn't want to think about them. "I want to be here."

"Why?"

It's a simple question, but there's no simple answer. There's not even a complex one. There isn't an answer she can give, not without admitting something she promised she would never, ever, ever admit. So instead of doing that, she leans over his bed and brushes the hair away from his left ear, looking down at the silver hoop that shines there. And when he opens his eyes to look up at her, she tucks her hair behind her ears to show him the silver studs on both sides with a matching silver hoop on the right.

"I kept it," she says, softly.

He looks up at her with half-lidded eyes the color of chocolate, with dry lips that are slightly parted, and it seems like forever until he speaks. "You never told me your name."

She blinks. "My name?"

"The real one. Not the one my brother gave you."

"It's," she begins, and wonders if she should do this but really has no choice, "Yui."

"Yui," he repeats, and closes his eyes again. "That's it?"

She looks down at him, still and fragile in his hospital bed, and after a moment she reaches for the chair that is always near his bedside. "Can I tell you a story, Narumi-san?" she asks. "It isn't very long, but… if you're willing to listen…"

"I'm not going anywhere," he says, and what might be a smile tugs at the corners of his mouth. And she can't help but smile, too.

She settles into the chair, dropping her wet umbrella on the floor, and begins to talk. She tells him everything - about how she was abandoned at birth, about her life as an orphan, about growing up without her family. She tells him about how Kiyotaka found her. She tells him about dropping out of high school, only to be taken to Tokyo and put back into Tsukiomi. And she tells him that the name she was given at the orphanage was Yui, that she is twenty-one years old now, and that she has spent two years in Europe helping to research gene therapy and axon replacement, all the methods and means by which his life might be saved.

When she finishes, she thinks he might be asleep, and she's just about ready to be indignant when he opens his eyes. "If all that is true," he says, "why are you still here?"

"Wh - what do you - "

"If you're no longer under my brother's contract, why are you still here? Why bother coming back?" He lifts an eyebrow at her. "Don't you have better things to do?"

She wants to scream at him. She wants to ask him why he doesn't understand. Why he can't just see how much she cares for him, why he doesn't realize that she gave up three years of her life for him in one way or another, why he doesn't look at her and see how devoted she has been to him, all this time, how much she wants to stay by his side -

But she's never actually come out and _said_ any of that, has she?

So how could he possibly understand?

She bows her head. She swallows. And she knows that she's an idiot, but lord help her, she _has_ to say something. Because as smart as Narumi Ayumu is, he probably doesn't realize how she feels.

Not that she does, either, but that's not important.

"Because the thing I want more than anything in this world is to be by Narumi-san's side," she says, and the words come easily, as if she's rehearsed them (and she has). "Because… because I don't want to leave you alone. I believe in you, Narumi-san, like I always have. Even though I was doing what your brother asked me to, everything I did… it was all real. I - "

"Why did you go to Europe?" he interrupts.

And this time her answer is unrehearsed, is just the first thing that pops into her head, but it's better that way. "Because I wanted you to live."

He's silent for a moment, and then he chuckles weakly. "Shouldn't that be my decision? To live or die?"

"Yes," she admits, and lifts her head, swallowing down the perpetual lump in her throat, "yes, but… if Narumi-san decided to live, then… I wanted to help him any way I could."

"And now?" He looks at her closely. "If I decided to live?"

"I would… do anything I could to help."

"Even if that meant going away and never coming back?"

She sucks in a breath. Her chest tightens. And her heart threatens to break.

But she knows what to say, knows what he wants to hear. "Yes, Narumi-san. Even if that meant… going away."

"Hm." He turns his head away and closes his eyes. "I'll think about it."

"... Naru - "

"I knew you were playing a part," he says, suddenly, "before my brother told me. But even after I figured it out, I didn't want it to be real." His voice is low. "Would you have waited for me to come back, even if I had killed him that day?"

"The Narumi-san I know wouldn't have killed Kiyotaka-san," she answers, and lifts a finger to touch the hoop in her ear. "But even so… my loyalty has always been to you."

"Why?"

"Because that's the way it should be."

"Yui," he murmurs, and then he sighs. "I liked your other name better."

And she can't really come up with anything to say to that. So she sits there in silence, watching him until he really does fall asleep, breathing evenly, his head turned to the side just enough to reveal the silver hoop in his ear. Eventually she rises from the chair, picking up her umbrella, and leaves the room.

She won't come back, she tells herself, until he makes a decision. And if this is the end, then…

Then, she thinks, with a parting look over her shoulder as the door slides closed behind her, everything will be how he wanted it. And that is what is important. Not her feelings, not her sacrifices, not the promise she made to him. All that matters is that _he_ is happy.


	7. fools like me I

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter seven - fools like me (part I)

* * *

_one month later_

* * *

Yui looks at her phone, her bottom lip curled up into her mouth and secured there by her teeth.

_Come here._

She's read this two word text message at least a hundred times since it arrived an hour before. It's not attached to a name in her phone, but she knows who it's from. His number never changed, after all, even if hers did.

She wonders, briefly, how he got her contact information. From Kiyotaka, most likely. But she can't imagine Ayumu outright asking his brother for the phone number of his former contract employee. Still, that isn't important. The important thing is...

_Come here._

It's barely seven in the morning; the chirp of her phone had woken her. She lies on her futon, the blankets messy around her, and doesn't know what to do.

She's kept her distance from the hospital since her last visit. Kiyotaka has updated her on Ayumu's condition, sending her a brief text message every few days. The news had been grim, at first… but then, gradually, his messages had grown longer, more detailed - more positive. And the last one, sent the evening before, had nearly driven her to tears.

_He's responding well to physical therapy, and his overall health has improved significantly._

_He's asking for you._

She sighs deeply, staring at her phone, and thinks back to the previous month. The only thing that had mattered to her was his happiness. And that's all that should matter to her now. Yet she can't deny that she wants to see him, even if only for a moment, and for entirely selfish reasons.

Well, she thinks, it really doesn't matter what the reason is. Because she's never ignored an order from him before, and she's not about to start now.

* * *

The hospital's visiting hours start at nine in the morning, and Yui is in the elevator at 8:59 sharp. She cradles a small bouquet of imported tulips in the crook of one arm, and she glances at them as she rides to Ayumu's floor, wondering if she should have gone with the irises instead. She knows they're cliche by now, but they had looked so fresh and vibrant, and they'd been just a little less expensive than the tulips - Oh, but it doesn't really matter, she thinks, shaking her head. She's nervous and she knows it, and no amount of debating the right choice in flowers will alleviate the stress.

She's halfway down the hall when she hears something - the faint strains of music - and stops in her tracks. Her eyes open wide and she notices a small crowd around a particular door, _his_ door, a crowd made up of patients and nurses and even a physician in a long white coat. She collects herself and picks up her pace, and when she arrives to join the crowd it's just in time to see an elderly man with a walker heave a contented sigh. "No one plays Beethoven quite like Ayumu-kun," he remarks.

"It's beautiful," one of the nurses murmurs, a clipboard clutched to her chest. "I haven't heard this kind of music in so long."

"His recovery is going well," the physician chimes in; then, noticing Yui standing at the back of the small group, smiles widely. "Ah, and it seems he has a visitor. Have visiting hours started already?"

"Yes," she answers, returning his smile, "and Narumi-san is expecting me, so - "

The piano suddenly stops. The group seems to collectively hold their breath, and there's a long pause before a voice can be heard, faintly, from within the room: "The show is over for today."

Glances are exchanged, but Ayumu's audience dissipates without a word, and one of the nurses gives Yui a smile and a nod before she starts down the hallway in the direction of her station. Once the crowd has gone, the blonde-haired woman clears her throat and steps forward to knock, twice, on the door.

She hears his voice again, faint but sure, and her heart skips at least one beat. "Come in."

And she does, without introducing herself, and as the door slides open the piano starts up again. She almost stumbles as she enters, closing the door quickly behind her, as if this music is for her alone, is a secret only she is allowed to share with him. Her eyes adjust to the light and she sees him sitting up on the edge of his bed, facing his piano, covered in sunshine that pours in through the open windows. He is dressed in a shirt and pants instead of a hospital gown, a portion of his arm is wrapped in a cast -

And he is using his left hand to play the piano.

She stands there in the doorway and listens, just listens, her heart beating so loud and fast that it threatens to drown out the music. She doesn't recognize the piece, but that doesn't make it any less beautiful. It's a long few minutes before the chords and notes finally slip away, his room filling with silence, and he sits still at the piano for a moment before she hears him clear his throat. "You came."

"How did you know - " She starts, but stops herself; it's really pointless to ask, because he's always had excellent hearing and not even the degeneration of his body could change that. "... yes, Narumi-san," she says instead, "I did."

"Ah." He looks over his shoulder. "Good. You brought flowers. My brother's been trying to put nothing but irises in that vase of yours. I keep throwing them away, but I don't think he's getting the point."

Yui smiles, and as she moves to unwrap the bouquet of tulips and slide them into the waiting vase on his bedside table, she silently congratulates herself on finally making a good decision. When she's finished and the cellophane wrapping has been thrown away, she turns to see him shifting in his bed, a low grunt escaping his lips as he slides away from the piano and leans back on the raised portion, his head settling into a pillow. "Well," he starts, and nods slightly at the empty chair waiting by his bed, "are you going to sit?"

"If… if that's okay…"

"Of course it is. I wouldn't have told you to come if it wasn't. Stupid girl." He grins as he delivers the last two words, and she isn't sure whether to smile or laugh or cry or do all three, so in the meantime she sinks into the chair and folds her hands tight together in her lap. He watches her closely, even with his head on the pillow, and doesn't waste any time before he starts to speak. "I owe you an apology."

She blinks, starts forward in her chair, and opens her mouth immediately to protest. "Narumi-san, I - "

"No." He holds up a hand - his left hand. "Stop. I don't need to save face." He exhales loudly before he lifts his upper body off of the bed, allowing his hand to settle back down on the mattress as he moves into a sitting position. "I'm sorry. I was cruel to you. And you did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment."

She closes her mouth, presses her lips together, and nods. Not because she agrees, but because she knows full well that he wants her to accept his apology.

"Good. Now." He looks to the open windows on the other end of his room, to the bright blue sky and white clouds drifting lazily by. "That's not the only reason I asked you to come here. You don't have to listen. If you want to get up and leave, I won't stop you. But you said your piece, and now I'd like to say mine."

"I'll listen." She inches forward on her seat. "To whatever it is you have to say. I won't leave."

"Alright." He draws in a breath and holds it; when it's released, it's in time with his head turning back, his eyes fixing on hers. "Do you remember what I told you before you left, two years ago?"

She remembers all of it, every word, but she thinks confessing that would sound strange and perhaps a little desperate. "Which part, Narumi-san?" she asks instead.

"Well, I said something about not wanting to make you cry. I don't remember how it went, exactly, but that was important to me. I didn't want you to be sad about doing the job for my brother, or leaving for your next task. I held my head high so you would be proud." He chuckles. "For some reason, I was concerned about your well-being. I thought you would start sobbing the second I walked away to go to the train station."

Yui tries very, _very_ hard not to fidget, or clear her throat, or do anything else that might indicate his being absolutely, positively correct. She remembers full well what a mess she had been. "Is that so?" she asks.

"Ah. And even now, I'm worried about doing anything to upset you. So the way I acted, the last few times you were here…" He draws his eyebrows together. "Somehow, I didn't realize how much my negative thinking was impacting you. But it did impact you, didn't it?"

"... yes," she confesses, lowering her head. "I was… a little upset."

"Is that why you stayed away from me?"

"I thought that… that was what you wanted." She swallows. "Since you said something about me… going away and never coming back… it seemed like that was the kind of thing you wanted, so that you would be able to make the decision to live."

"Hm." There's a short pause; she hears him shift in his bed with another low grunt. "That's what it sounded like to you?"

"Yes. But if I was wrong, I - "

"You shouldn't even think about blaming yourself. If that's how it sounded to you, that's probably how I said it." He sighs. "Truthfully, I've spent the last few months in some kind of downward spiral. I wasn't talking to anyone about it, but it seems as if a few people noticed. That's why I was so harsh when you were here. I had allowed negative thinking to completely take over my mind."

She glances up, watching him extend one arm to run his fingers over the ivory keys of his piano, and she catches a glimpse of a silver hoop in his left ear. "When I was first admitted," he says, "I did everything in my power to stay positive. I knew that the Blade Children were watching me closely, and that their well-being depended on my fight. So I fought as hard as I could against my condition. And as a result, it seems many of them - at least the ones we know, Rutherford and the others - have made it past their twentieth birthdays."

"That's wonderful, Narumi-san."

"Ah. It is." He nods. "But after that… I started to feel lonely. They stopped visiting me as often. Rutherford is off touring, and it sounds like Asazuki and Takamachi are doing well in their classes. Aniki and neesan have made up, too. So as everyone else was able to make a new life for themselves, I was left to wither away in my bed. I wasn't even able to see Hizumi before he passed away - although that was his choice, not mine." He pauses again, pressing one key on the piano, a low, long note echoing in the room. "I started to question whether or not life was worth living. If there was any purpose to my struggle. Somehow, I never once considered making the decision to live for my own sake. I didn't know that I could."

Yui glances at the tulips in the nearby vase. "So… that is why you acted the way you did, the last time I was here?"

"Yes. I had grown so tired of fighting by then, and I didn't think I had any reason to keep going." He turns his head to look at her again. "But something you said, about wanting me to live… about doing anything in your power to help me… it made me realize how selfish I had been. How I'd blindly made the decision to give up without considering just how hard everyone had been fighting for me. Even while I was lonely, everyone was working to research a cure for my condition, trying to find a way to improve my quality of life. Including you."

"Yes," she agrees, softly, "including me."

"After the last time you were here, my brother came in and yelled at me. He told me how upset you had been. And he told me everything about your role in all this, instead of just the pieces I had asked about before." He smiles slightly. "Part of me had been stubbornly insisting that you must have been acting the whole time you played the role of Yuizaki Hiyono, but he told me that your directions had been minimal at best. So it seems the "stupid girl" I spent so much time with was more real than I thought."

"Narumi-san, I - "

"You weren't acting," he interrupts, and she senses how important this question is, how much it means to him, "were you? When you were with me - was that the real you I was depending on? Were you encouraging me because you were told to, or was it because you truly believed in me?"

She shuts her mouth, then opens it again. "I was never acting," she responds, with a slight shake of her head. "I promise. And when I told you I believed in you… it was because I really _did _believe in you. It was all true. The only thing that was different was my name."

"I never acted, either." He doesn't look away. "Even after I figured it out."

"I..." she starts, but she doesn't know what to say. "Narumi-san..."

"My brother counted on me relying on you. He even counted on me having feelings for you. Whether you realized it at the beginning or not, his plan was to use you to break me. And he failed." His voice grows softer. "I've had more than two years to think about this. For most of that time, I was convinced that he failed because I was stronger - more logical - than he was. And I tried to tell myself that it was because I didn't care about you at all - because you weren't real to me, in the end. But the truth I've been running from, all this time, is that you were _always_ real to me."

She feels the twinge of something hot behind her eyes and instantly knows she's going to cry unless he stops. "Na - Narumi-san, I..."

"Don't," he chides her, gently, with a shake of his own head. "I did rely on you. And I still want to. If you still want to be by my side... who am I to tell you no?" He smiles. "And if that's the reason I can find to keep on living… because I don't want to make the person who supported me and believed in me sad… then that's the reason I will hold on to. It's better than any other one I could find."

She immediately begins to cry. She can't help it. They're tears of relief, of happiness, tears that she's been holding back since the last day she lived as Yuizaki Hiyono, and she covers her eyes with her hands and chokes back her sobs so they aren't so loud. Ayumu doesn't say anything, but she hears him shift on his bed, and after a minute there's the gentle press of a hand on one of her shoulders. "I'm sorry," he murmurs. "If I said something wrong…"

"No," she chokes out, and almost laughs at the absurdity of him thinking that, "no, I'm… I'm relieved… I'm sorry, I - " She hiccups, wiping at her eyes. "I can't stop…"

"I made you cry after all."

"It's not a bad thing…" She lifts her head, and this time she does manage to laugh, if only because she wants to show him that it's okay, that she's going to be fine. He's sitting on the edge of his bed, facing her, his knees on either side of where her legs are pressed tightly together, and all she can think for a moment is how much healthier he looks. "I'm fine," she insists, and forces a smile, wiping at her eyes again as the tears begin to slow. "I needed to cry a little…"

"Hm. I understand." He releases a sigh, almost as if he's relieved, too, and squeezes her shoulder lightly before lifting his hand. It's a surprisingly affectionate action, and that on its own is almost enough to stop the steady flow of tears. "I cried, too. Two weeks ago."

"Why…?"

"Because I realized I'd managed to chase you away." One corner of his mouth turns up. "It's just like me to scare off the one person who really cares about me. You were willing to go anywhere my brother asked if it meant you could save my life, and all I did was yell at you for making that decision without consulting me. If it hadn't been for you, I wouldn't be able to move my left hand right now."

"Oh… your hand…" She reaches out carefully, pressing the tips of her fingers to the top of his left hand, trying to ignore the way her movements are unsteady and unsure. "Is it... is it... okay?"

"I've been regaining functionality." He gestures to the cast on his left arm, thin and clean white, stopping just below his elbow. "The surgeon says he expected my hand and upper shoulder to partially recover, but not to be usable. I've exceeded that expectation."

"Can you... feel with it?"

"Ah. The nerves have been repaired enough that I've recovered some sensation, too."

"A - and you were really... playing the piano with it?"

"I was. Although my wrist is sore from physical therapy. Chords are too difficult." He frowns slightly - then, all at once, his face brightens and he laughs. "I probably shouldn't be complaining. A few weeks ago, I couldn't even feel the entirety of my left arm."

"That's wonderful, Narumi-san..." She smiles, drawing her hand away. "You seem... so much happier..."

He looks at her, one eyebrow raised. "Are you going to cry again?"

"Yes," she answers, and tears well up in her eyes. "I'm so… I'm happy, for you…"

"Knock it off." He shakes his head, exhaling loudly. "You're going to make me feel like a jerk for making you cry twice in one day."

She reaches up to wipe at her eyes again, sniffing, and tries to smile. "You_ are _a little bit of a jerk."

"I suppose I am. You liked to call me mean, back then." He grins, leaning forward, propping his chin up in one hand. "Do you still think I'm mean, now that I've called you here to pour my heart out to you? I'm very vulnerable right now. You could probably make _me _cry in just a few words."

"Could I?" Smiling is getting easier, and she giggles softly, sniffing again. "So if I told you something like… "no, Narumi-san, I don't accept your apology, and I think you're mean," you'd be upset enough to cry?"

"Hmm. That's harsh. But I'd only frown."

"So something more like… "you are the meanest person I have ever met, and…" um…" She stops, trying to think of something more to add to this line, and comes up short. "I can't really think of anything…"

"Really? That's the best you can do?" He snorts. "You really aren't a very mean person, are you? I could think of a hundred hurtful things to say to make you cry, and you can't even come up with one?"

"I - I don't usually sit around trying to think of mean things to say to people!"

"I can tell."

"That should be one of my good qualities, you know!" She folds her arms tightly together, pouting. "One of _many_ good qualities I have."

"Hm. That's actually the only one I know of."

She gasps. "Narumi-san!"

He throws his head back and laughs, loudly, and the sound sends a shiver down her spine and a flush into her cheeks. He grins when his eyes meet hers again, and she knows, knows for certain, that something really has changed within him - that she's seeing not only the Narumi Ayumu from two years ago, the one full of wit and logic and too much deep thought for his own good, but also bits and pieces of a brand new Ayumu, one who can laugh and smile and banter with her as he fights for his life, for the right to keep moving ahead in this world -

Oh, and it is good, so good, to hear him _laugh_. And she knows now just how much she loves that sound.

How much she loves _him_.

She might as well admit it, she thinks, absently rubbing at one of her flushed cheeks, because it isn't going to go away. He's all but confessed to having feelings for her, so what's the use of trying to pretend that she doesn't have any for him? After all, she did go to Europe for him, learned about gene therapy for him, worked for Kiyotaka for him. Everything was for him, out of love for him, out of a desire to one day stand by his side and be accepted for who she was - _is_ - and to be a part of his life. That's what she wants, isn't it?

That is what she wants. Him. And nothing else.

"We have some catching up to do," he says, and pats the place beside him on his bed with one hand. "Come up here. This is more comfortable."

"A - are you sure, Narumi-san?"

"Yes. I'm sure. Now hurry up and tell me about Germany before I kick you out of my room again." He grins a grin that she is very much beginning to love, and as she rises to take her place beside him on his bed, she hopes that this day, this change in him, is the beginning of something wonderful.


	8. fools like me II

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter eight - fools like me (part II)

* * *

_three weeks later_

* * *

Yui looks at the screen of her cell phone as she steps into the hospital elevator and giggles again.

_Who in the world would want to hire YOU? Aside from my brother, that is._

From what she remembers, Ayumu was never very keen on text messaging while in high school. He'd complained more than a few times about Hizumi sending dozens of messages a day, even while they were sharing the same house and only a room away. As Hiyono, she'd only ever exchanged a few messages with him - usually questions about bentou boxes that were confirmed with brief messages of "yes" or "fine."

But now that he's in the hospital, and has regained the use of his left hand, Ayumu appears to have become quite the texter.

Yui doesn't even get a chance to respond to this latest message before her phone chirps again. _Are you here yet?_ the screen displays, and she smiles as she presses the the number for his floor on the elevator's control panel without looking. She's been at the hospital every day for the better part of the month, and somehow he hasn't complained about her coming around too much, or bothering him right after physical therapy.

She'd call it a miracle, but she's beginning to think it's something else entirely. Something else she never thought to expect.

_On my way~_ she texts back, watching the doors close in front of her. A few seconds later, as the elevator starts to slow its ascent, her phone chirps again.

_Did you remember to bring the books?_

She glances at the canvas bag slung over her shoulder and smiles a little wickedly.

_Oh no!_

A few minutes later, when she slides open the door to Ayumu's hospital room - not bothering to knock or announce herself - she is met with the sight of a rather annoyed brown-haired young man sitting in a wheelchair, a cell phone in his lap. "How many times," he starts, wheeling toward the door, "do I have to ask you - "

"I was just joking, Narumi-san." She laughs, allowing the bag to slide from her shoulder to her forearm. "Madoka-oneesan added a few of her own, in case you read all these."

"That's a poor joke to be making at a time like this." He wheels all the way up to her, taking the bag from her and peeking inside with a grunt. "I've been out of reading material for a week. I've lost count of the times I've gone through the complete Sherlock Holmes collection, and those cases do not prove any more difficult to solve with repeated readings."

She laughs again, smiling down at him. "Are you happy now?"

"Yes. Well. No." He lifts his head, raising an eyebrow at her. "Why, exactly, did you find it necessary to get a job?"

"My rent won't pay itself, Narumi-san…"

"My brother will."

"No, he won't." She sighs. "He only paid for my first two months, and with my contract dissolved… I can't exactly ask for any more money unless I go back to working for him, or with some other agency that would want to send me back to Europe, so…"

"Point taken." He spins his chair around - how he has managed to learn that skill so quickly, Yui thinks she will never know - and deposits the bag of books on his hospital bed, which looks untouched. She wonders if he's been in the wheelchair all day. "A transcriptionist, though?" he asks, with his back still turned. "Wouldn't you be better as some kind of… hacker, or actress, or spy? Maybe you could make a business out of masquerading as a high school student."

"Very funny…" She sighs a second time, reaching up to twirl a lock of hair around her fingers. "Madoka-oneesan referred me for the position, and my typing skills were better than they expected. I'm very lucky that there was an immediate opening for a police transcriptionist… and that they weren't very concerned about the two year gap in my records…"

"What did you tell them, that you were studying abroad?"

"Um…"

"... never mind. I should have figured you'd come up with an excuse like that." He wheels back around, slower this time, and looks up at her with a serious expression. "I want to go outside."

"Wh - what?!" She stares at him. "_Now?_"

"Yes. Now."

"Na - Narumi-san, are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"Hn." He picks up his cell phone, glances at it, and tosses it over one shoulder onto his bed. "It's boring in here. Neesan's been going on and on about how nice the weather is lately, and yet I'm stuck here in this room."

"But I thought…" She bites her lip. "I thought that your immune system…"

"I can't get hurt if I'm only outside for a few minutes."

"But - "

"I asked one of the physicians about it," he interrupts; then, rolling his eyes, nods at the open door of his room. "He said it shouldn't be an issue, as long as I have a - and I'll quote him directly - _responsible individual_ with me. Because apparently _I_ can't be trusted, now that able to use a wheelchair again."

Yui shifts from one foot to the other, clearing her throat. "Well… Madoka-oneesan did say that the hospital was almost on lockdown when you decided to go to the cafeteria unaccompanied last week…"

"I'm like a prisoner in this place."

"It isn't that, Narumi-san, but… we're all just not used to you being able to get around so easily, and we're worried about your health, so…" She sighs. "I'm sure it's fine, if you want to go outside for a few minutes, but it's not very nice out right now. There were a lot of clouds gathering, and I think the forecast was calling for rain - "

"A little rain won't kill me." He wheels himself past her, to the door, and a small grin appears on his mouth. "And if it does, you can say "I told you so" and be happy with yourself for_ finally_ being right."

Yui sputters, crosses her arms, and decides a few seconds later that there's no point to arguing with him, especially since he's already moving out the door. Once Ayumu makes up his mind, there's really no way she can change it.

But that's not really such a bad thing. Usually.

* * *

"How long has it been?"

"A year, at least."

"I can't imagine…"

"I had the windows in my room opened as often as the nurses would allow, but after I caught a cold and nearly gave myself pneumonia over the winter, they stopped listening to those requests." Ayumu chuckles, shaking his head, and Yui can't help but smile down at him. They've gone to a small courtyard in the rear of the hospital, a grassy area with paved sidewalks and a few small flowerbeds. The sun is hidden behind gray clouds, and it really looks like rain, but…

"This is nice." Ayumu breathes in deeply, exhales, and shakes his head again. "I forgot just how fresh the air was, out here. And warm."

"Summer's going to be here soon."

"Ah. Maybe I can open my windows again, then." He looks somewhere into the distance, squinting slightly. "Although I'd rather leave before it gets hot. Two summers in this place sounds like torture."

"I'm…" She hesitates, tapping two fingers against one of the handles of his wheelchair. "... not sure if you'll be released so quickly, Narumi-san…"

"Hm. We'll see." He turns to look at her. "How often are you going to be here, now that you're starting this job of yours? I assume it's full-time."

"It is…" She smiles carefully. "But I asked if I could work an earlier schedule, so that I can spend the first part of my day in a quiet atmosphere. So I'll be able to come visit you every afternoon, usually by five. Ah, and if Madoka-oneesan comes to visit on lunch, she promised I could come with her."

"That's…" He pauses, as if he's carefully considering his words; when he finally speaks, it's with a slight grin and a raised eyebrow. "... better than I was expecting, somehow."

She opens her mouth, closes it, and blinks at him. She's really not sure where to start with that one. So he's actually happy that she's planning to continue visiting so often? "Narumi-san," she starts, slowly, "are you sure that… you don't mind me coming here every day?"

He snorts. "Don't get any ideas."

She makes a face at him. "I wasn't!"

"Your company is _marginally_ better than my brother's. You bring flowers that aren't irises. And for some strange reason, I don't get tired of making you mad." He shrugs, but that grin is still on his mouth, so she knows he's at least partially joking. How much of that he means, though… "Besides, you owe me for being gone for so long."

She sighs loudly. "I don't really understand how I owe you for spending two years doing research to save your life."

"Hm. Haven't I told you my theory yet? That you were spending two years in Europe pretending to do research while you just spent my brother's money on expensive clothing and Belgian chocolates?"

She recoils. "Narumi-_san_!"

He laughs. "Well, we'll know for sure if my arm suddenly stops moving again, right?"

"You - are - urgh!" She crosses her arms, walking a few paces away from him. She hears laughter behind her, and she tries her hardest to ignore the urge to smile, because it's really not funny. Of course she spent those two years researching. Of course, she did buy a nice dress or two in Germany, and a pair of very fashionable heels in Paris, but that is _not_ the point! The point is…

"Hey." He's beside her before she can even think to turn around again, and although his lips are still curved into something resembling a smile, he seems more serious than before. "I was just joking. Don't get mad."

"But you like making me mad, don't you?" She sticks her tongue out at him. "You can't fool me, Narumi-san. I know the only reason you want me around is to torture me with your hurtful words."

"If that was the only reason, I'd have already told the nurses to stop letting you in my room."

"Cruel…"

"Anyway. If you're going to be coming to visit around this time every day, I'll get permission to go outside every afternoon." He nods at his left arm, lying still in his lap. "It'll help with my physical therapy to use my wheelchair more. As long as the weather is good, and I don't get some kind of cold, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay, Narumi-san," she agrees.

"And eventually," he says, now looking pointedly at his left leg, "I want to go to Hizumi's grave. Even if I'm still in this damn chair, I want to see him."

"That's fine." She smiles. "I'd like to put some more flowers there."

"And another thing." He looks up at her. "Stop calling me "Narumi-san" all the time."

"What?" She blinks. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Narumi-san, that's not a good reason."

"I don't need a good reason." He rolls his eyes. "You talk to me like I'm some old man. The least you could do is use my name once in a while."

"Oh? And you're any better?" She puts her hands on her hips, leaning down to frown at him. "The only thing I ever hear is "hey" and "you." It's never changed since we were at Tsukiomi together, and I know you know what my name is this time!"

"Hn. That's not really the issue at hand here."

"Yes it is! I am _making_ it an issue!"

He opens his mouth to respond, but the dull rumble of thunder interrupts him. They look at each other, neither speaking, perhaps trying to decide whether or not it's worth ignoring the first sign of a storm, and then Yui feels a raindrop on her arm.

"We should go inside," she murmurs. "I think it's about to storm…"

"Is it?"

Another raindrop lands on her skin, and she quickly moves to grab the handles of Ayumu's wheelchair. "I'm not going to get in trouble for this, Narumi-san. We're going inside."

"Hm. It is." He answers his own question, seemingly ignoring her as she begins to push him up the path in the direction of the back doors of the hospital. He holds up one hand, tilting his head up to look at the gray sky. "You should probably push faster. The rain isn't going to wait for you."

She scrunches up her face even knowing that he can't see it. "I can't push any faster than this! You're heavy!"

"Now, now, no need to insult my weight. I've actually lost a few pounds, you know."

She sighs. "Mou…"

* * *

By the time they make it back to Ayumu's room, the clouds have completely broken through, and the rain is coming down hard outside. There's rain in their hair and on their faces, but they've otherwise avoided the storm, and Yui quickly finds a towel with which to dry them both off. "I did say there was rain in the forecast," she murmurs, gingerly patting at Ayumu's hair. "But I don't think anyone noticed that we were a little wet, so…"

"Like I said. A little rain won't kill me." He ducks out of the way of the towel, waving a hand at her. "Quit that. I'm fine."

"Narumi-san, I don't want you to get sick…"

"I'm fine." He rolls his eyes. "But I need to lie down."

"Oh - okay! Do you want me to help you out of your wheelchair? Or get a nurse? Or - "

"Just - lend me your shoulder for a minute." He straightens in the chair, leaning up to hook an arm around her shoulders, and she feels a little stupid as he pulls himself easily out of his wheelchair and into the hospital bed. "I'm not supposed to use my legs," he explains (although she thinks he really doesn't need to), "so if I want to do this, I have to borrow someone for help."

"Your arms are getting stronger," she observes, watching him settle down in his bed before pushing the wheelchair out of the way. "And… I think your skin looks a little healthier."

"Hm. I guess." He takes his arm back, leaning into his pillows, and there's a short pause before he looks up at her with a serious expression. "Listen. About what you said outside."

"Y - yes?"

"Do you want me to call you by your name?"

She hesitates, and it takes her entirely too long to find her voice. She should be used to these rapid changes in topic by now, but somehow he always manages to catch her off guard. "I... Truthfully, Narumi-san," she begins, quietly, "I… needed to use a different name to take the position with the police department. So if it's okay with you, then… I'd like to ask you to call me that, instead of… my birth name."

"Oh?" He arches an eyebrow at her, then proceeds to shake the rain out of his hair. She shrieks as water splashes her in the face, scrunching up her nose at him, and the grin that appears on his mouth is far more handsome than she expects. "You're going to ask me to call you "stupid girl" again?"

"No!" She huffs at him, lifting the towel in her hands to wipe off her face. "Not at all!"

"What, then?" He studies her, lifting a hand to smooth his hair (and to flick a few more beads of water in her face). "Haven't you had enough names for one lifetime?"

"Hiyono," she answers him, and sees his eyes widen, and that sends her into a rapid-fire, nervous explanation; this is happening far sooner than she thought it would, and she isn't sure how he'll take it. "I... I was thinking that... Yui was a name that I was given when I was found as a baby, and taken to an orphanage. Hiyono is... it's real to me. And it's real to Narumi-san, too, isn't it? When I called myself Hiyono, it was the first time that I felt like a real person. And... that's why I was thinking about that. And it was easier to go back to it, for my position, but..."

He looks quietly at her, his hand still in his hair - but then, quick as a flash, he reaches out to touch her cheek. She shivers - his fingers are cold - and yelps as he grabs one of her wrists in his other hand and tugs her close, close enough that she can see a bead of moisture on his nose. She has to brace herself against his shoulder to keep from toppling over into his hospital bed, and it's an uncomfortable half-standing position she's in right now -

"It's a stupid name," he murmurs.

She tenses, swallowing hard, and her heart is beating so rapidly that she thinks it's going to leap up her throat. This is happening so _fast_. "B - but - "

"A stupid name," he continues, and that grin is back, makes her go weak in the knees, "for a stupid girl."

She doesn't know whether to laugh, cry, or scream at him and storm out of the room. So she doesn't do anything at all. And she thinks for a moment, just a fleeting moment, that Narumi Ayumu may actually be about to kiss her -

"Listen," he says, suddenly, and releases her wrist, "I'm having another surgery tomorrow."

She freezes. His hand lingers on her cheek for a moment, but then it falls, and she straightens, watching him settle back in the bed. His room is quiet, and when she finally finds her voice again, the words come out unsteady. "On… on your leg…?"

"Ah."

"Why didn't you… say something… before now?" She swallows and folds her hands together; she realizes that she's shaking a little, and she's not sure if it's because of the skin-on-skin contact or the news he's just delivered. "Is it… was it an emergency?"

"No. Nothing like that. I've known for a while." The grin is gone from his mouth, and he looks up at her seriously, his eyes on hers. "It's the same as before. You would be worked up over it, if you knew any earlier."

She sighs. "Narumi-san…"

"It's nothing to worry about. They're trying to repair the damage on my leg before it gets any worse. Normally they wouldn't operate so soon after the surgery on my arm, but I asked for it." He nods at the wheelchair nearby. "I want a fighting chance at not being confined to that thing. And I want to get out of this hospital."

She studies his face, tilting her head slightly. "It's a little strange… hearing you say that."

"Why?"

"Just a few weeks ago, you didn't seem worried about leaving the hospital at all…"

"My thinking has changed since then. You know that." He shrugs. "So, if you want to come back tomorrow, make it a little later than you normally would. I should be out of recovery by the time you get here. I'll make sure my brother authorizes visitors, even if I'm sleeping."

"O - okay…"

"Oh, and another thing." He smiles slightly. "If you're not completely broke just yet, bring some flowers. If you don't, aniki will try to sneak in some irises again, and I won't be able to get out of bed to trash them."

She can't help but smile back. "Do you have any preferences?"

"Hm. Good question." He settles back in his bed, turning his head to look out the window at the rain, and just when she thinks he won't have an answer he responds: "Daylilies, if they're in season. They'll remind me of you."

"Eh?" She blinks. "Why?"

"No reason," he says, but she can hear the smile in his voice, and she knows there's _some_ reason for it. But she won't pry, because all that matters is that he wants to be reminded of her, and she really couldn't ask for anything more.

"Daylilies, then," she responds, and picks a book up off his nightstand. "Should I read to you for a little while?" she asks.

"Hmm. If you want. Don't you have to get ready for your new job tomorrow?"

"Not yet," she says, and smiles. "Nothing is more important than being here with you, right now."

He turns his head back to look at her, one eyebrow slightly raised, and then he chuckles. "Fine," he replies, "but if you start messing up like you did last week, I'll be the one doing it. For a woman who went through high school twice, you're not very good at reading aloud."

She sighs loudly. "If you weren't confined to this bed, Narumi-san, I'd throw this book at you."

He grins. "From what I remember, you don't have a very good throwing arm, either."

"You really are a jerk sometimes…"

"You wouldn't have me any other way."

And he's right, but there's no way she's going to tell him that.


	9. fools like me III

**heroes and thieves**  
chapter nine - fools like me (part III)

* * *

She meets Kiyotaka and Madoka in the hallway the next evening, carrying a bouquet of bright yellow daylilies in one hand and a thick hardback novel in the other. Kiyotaka smiles when he sees her approaching the door, calling to her from halfway up the hallway. "How was your first day of work, Yui-chan~?"

Madoka makes a face at her husband. "Don't yell! You'll disturb the patients!"

Yui waits until she's closer to respond, smiling politely at the couple. "It was very pleasant, thank you," she answers, with a nod at Madoka. "I'm very happy with it."

"That's good. I heard you had the fastest typing speed ever recorded in our tests." The older woman shakes her head, sighing. "Somehow I'm still unable to do much more than thirty words a minute…"

"Was…" Yui glances to Kiyotaka. "... was Narumi-san's surgery… a success?"

"It's a little too early to tell, but there were no unexpected complications." He motions to the door. "He's resting now, if you'd like to visit. Madoka and I are going to get some coffee."

"We are?"

"Yesssss," he says, hooking his arm through his wife's and tugging - hard - "we are!"

"Kiyotaka - _urgh_!"

Yui watches, dumbfounded, as Kiyotaka practically drags Madoka away from the door and down the hall in the direction of the elevator. She feels a little sorry for Madoka, but now that they're gone…

She swallows, stands up straight, and tucks the heavy book she's carrying under one arm. She knocks softly on Ayumu's door twice, but there's no response. When she cautiously slides the door open a few inches and peeks inside, she finds it almost dark, save the soft glow of an IV machine on the left side of his bed. She wonders if he's sleeping, but…

"Narumi-san?" she ventures, quietly. "It's… me."

"I know." His voice is hoarse, but his tone is gentle. "Come in."

She does, quietly shutting the door behind her. In the dark she fumbles to deposit the lilies in the waiting vase on his table and place the book on the other side, but she manages not to spill anything or knock over the rest of the books that have been piled there. When she comes to the side of his bed, she sees him lying still, almost flat, his head and shoulders propped up by pillows. There are IVs attached to his right wrist, and the sheets are pulled up to cover his legs and most of his body. "Narumi-san," she breathes again, looking down at him, "how are you feeling?"

"Tired," he murmurs. "And sore."

"Your leg...?"

"Unlike my arm, I can still feel everything in my leg. As soon as I came out of the recovery room, I was in pain." He exhales, turning his head on the pillows to face her. "But whatever's in this IV is helping."

She smiles. "Morphine, probably."

"Ah." He looks up at her. "Come here."

"... huh?"

"Sit." He pats the bed with his right hand. "Or - actually, lie down. I'm not strong enough to sit up right now."

"Wh - why… would you want me to…" She feels heat creep up into her face, and she wrings her hands together. "Is there… even enough room for me to…?"

"Yes, there's room. And I've been waiting for you to get here since I woke up two hours ago. So the least you can do is keep me company."

Yui hesitates, but she doesn't want to argue with him - not now. She cautiously moves to sit on the edge of his bed, but when she looks down into his face she sees him wearing an annoyed expression. She feels her blush intensify, but she carefully shifts on the bed to lie down beside him, keeping as close to the edge as possible. There's a long pause, the silence in his room only broken by the dull hum of the IV machine, and then he exhales. "That's better."

She clears her throat, pressing her head into one of his pillows. "Your brother said that… the surgery went well."

"So I'm told." He's watching her, his brown eyes fixed on hers, and she wonders if there's something he wants to say - but should he even be awake right now? He looks tired, and she thinks she sees dark circles under his eyes. "I'll start physical therapy on my leg as soon as the incisions heal."

"Will you still be working on your arm…?"

"Yes. Both at once." He tries to clear his throat, but his voice is still hoarse, not quite what she's used to. "My leg was degrading at a much slower rate, thanks to the medication I started taking a few months ago. I still had feeling, but not much movement. With the repairs made to my nerve endings, I should be able to regain some mobility. But it's harder to recover mobility in a leg than an arm, or something like that… I don't remember what they said."

"It's because of the difference in mass," she says, softly. "And Narumi-san's leg wasn't moved as much as his arm, after he came to the hospital, so…"

"If you say so. You're the expert on my health, after all."

She sighs. "That's not really it…"

"Hn. Come closer."

"Wh - what?!"

"I said," he starts, and reaches out to take her by the shoulder, "come closer. I'm not infectious."

"B - but…" she murmurs, but Ayumu's asking her to lie beside him on his bed, closer than she's ever been to him before, and does she really want to protest? No, actually, she does not. So she obeys, moving until she has no choice but to touch him, her shoulder and arm pressing to his. "Is that okay?" she asks quietly.

"It'll do." She hears him exhale. "You're the only person who has bothered to touch me in months. Everyone else seems to think I'm contagious. Neesan hasn't hugged me in almost a year."

"Oh… I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. I brought it on myself. I was acting cold to everyone, after all."

"But even so… that doesn't mean that Narumi-san shouldn't be hugged, every once in a while. So many people care about him, so…" She swallows, trying to summon up all her courage. "Would it… make you feel any better, if I - ?"

"Hm. Here." He shifts in bed, raising his right arm, and she thinks she understands what he's getting at. Her heart starts to pound, but she moves closer to him anyway, rolling to lie on her side with her head resting beside his. He stretches his arm around her back, and when his hand settles on her shoulder and stays there, she feels heat rise up into her cheeks. "Hm," he murmurs, "that's…"

"Is it - is it okay, for me to be this close, right now?" She barely recognizes her own voice, unsteady and high-pitched. "I'm not going to hurt you, am I?"

"No. You won't. This is much better." In the low light, she can see his eyes drop from her face to below her neck, and she realizes that the front of her blouse has shifted down quite a bit -

"Narumi-_san_!" She yanks up her shirt. "Were you - ?!"

"_Much_ better," he murmurs, with a low chuckle. "I didn't realize you had anything to offer, in that department."

"You - y - you…" Yui's face is on fire. "Narumi-san shouldn't be looking at… me, like that…"

"You're the one who wore that shirt."

"You're the one who told me to lie in bed with you!"

"Now, now. Calm - " He coughs, suddenly, turning his head away, and she forgets all about her embarrassment. She watches him, worried, but he doesn't cough again, looking back to her with a soft sigh. "That hurt," he mutters, hoarsely.

"Are you alright…?"

"Fine." His eyes meet hers. "Sorry."

"It's alright…" She manages a smile. "I'm just a little nervous, being this close to you, so… I think I overreacted…"

"Why would you be nervous?"

Her cheeks grow warm again. "Well… I've… um…"

He lifts an eyebrow. "Never been this close to me?"

"R - right…"

"Hn. Well, get used to it. We'll be like this a lot more often from now on."

She gapes at him. "... are you delusional, Narumi-san?"

"No. Drugged, but not delusional."

"Is there really a difference…?"

"Listen," he begins, his voice low, and she immediately stills. She's always understood the importance of this word - that when he says it, it's because he's about to tell her something important, something she won't want to miss. And even now, while he's half-asleep and attached to an IV, she knows the words he's about to speak will have meaning of some kind. "I granted you a wish, once," he tells her, his eyes fixed on hers, dark and serious in the low light. "Now will you do the same for me?"

"A - _anything_," she returns, eagerly, perhaps a little too quickly, but what does it matter? She _would_ do anything for him. She learned German, gave up hacking, and became educated in the field of gene therapy for him. What _wouldn't _she do? "If there is anything I can do, please… just ask."

"I'm planning on it." She sees his lips twitch, as if he's trying to hold back a smile. "But you have to promise not to say no."

"Why would I…?" She pauses, blinking. "It's - it's not going to be anything - _weird_, is it? It's - it's bad enough that you looked down my shirt, Narumi-san, but - "

"No. Nothing weird." This time she knows he's trying to keep the smile off of his face. "You're the one with weird wishes. Mine are far more practical."

She sighs. "Fine, then… what is it?"

The room is silent for a moment, and then he speaks, his voice warm and sincere, and at the sound of the three very simple words that escape his mouth, Yui thinks her heart is going to burst. "Stay with me."

She doesn't say anything at first. A thousand thoughts run through her mind, and there are a thousand ways she could respond. But then she realizes he is still looking at her, watching her, and she swallows and inhales and blurts out the very first thing that makes it from her brain to her mouth: "I will be happy to grant your wish, Narumi-san."

"... ah." The smile finally appears. "That was easy."

"I was already planning on staying, so…"

"Before I asked? Hm. That's quite an assumption to make about my feelings."

"Even at a serious moment like this, you're joking about everything…" She sighs again, wondering if he can hear her heart beating, considering how loud it is; she feels him shift in the bed and tighten his arm around her back, and after just a second of consideration she moves closer to him, burying her head in the crook of his neck and shoulder. He exhales, apparently surprised, but all she wants is this, right now. Uncertainty be damned - this is as much of a confession as she will ever get out of him, and it doesn't matter what kind of drugs he's on. "Narumi-san," she murmurs, "you didn't have to ask me to stay. I told you… nothing is more important than being with you…"

"Still. I wanted to hear you agree to it." She's surprised by how close his voice is to her, now - how much richer it sounds, even though his words are still hoarse and occasionally weak. "I needed to know if you meant it."

"I really don't lie very often…" She closes her eyes. His bed is more comfortable than she expected, and she's enjoying the feeling of his arm around her, the way her head seems to fit perfectly beneath his. "But… Narumi-san is sure that it's me he wants, even with everything that's happened…?"

"Mm." His breath is warm on her ear, and she feels his fingers begin to toy with a few strands of her hair that have settled around her shoulder. "None of that matters. You're here now. So am I." He yawns suddenly, loudly, and grunts low as he moves his leg. "At least… I think I'm here. This might all be a dream."

"Are you going to remember this tomorrow?"

"If I don't, I expect you to remind me." She hears a grin in his voice. "Just tell me I managed to get you into bed and got a good look down your shirt. It'll jog my memory."

She opens her eyes. "I _swear _I am going to hit you."

"You would hit an injured man in a hospital bed? That's terrible."

"Not if I'm provoked."

"It's still terrible. The nurses would drag you out of here kicking and screaming. No one would believe your story."

"I'm beginning to reconsider my decision to grant your wish…"

"Hn." He grunts again, and she feels his body shift in the bed; she sits halfway up, concerned, and sees him shake his head. "I'm fine. Don't move. My leg is just sore."

"Are you sure…?"

"Yes." His fingers slip further into her hair, and he pushes carefully on her back, guiding her back down to lie beside him. She settles down again, although it's with reluctance, and there's a pause before he speaks again, his voice soft, so gentle it makes her shiver. "I don't want this to end just yet. I've waited a long time for you to be here."

"... h - have you?"

"Yes." He looks at her with warm, half-lidded eyes, his fingers still wound loosely through her hair, and when he shifts on his bed again, it's to close the distance between them. He presses his lips gently to her cheek, and when he does, it feels like a lifetime of waiting has ended for her, too. She holds her breath, stunned, watching him, trembling as her face burns with a blush as hot as a fire -

"Hiyono," he murmurs into her ear, and she doesn't correct him. It is her name, after all, it's the name she wants and the name she _needs,_ it's the connection to the person she has wanted to be all this time, the connection to _him_ -

"Can I?" he murmurs, his gaze flicking to her mouth, and she realizes what he's asking. And oh, oh _god_, she prays he remembers_ this _in the morning.

"Please," she murmurs, and she's desperate and shameless and she knows it, but she's wanted this kind of love for ages, wanted nothing more than to know that Narumi Ayumu loves her and only her, that it's real love, that they've defied everything, every odd in the name of it. And she knows a single kiss doesn't necessarily mean that…

But it does. For them, it does.

Their first kiss is short, so gentle it feels like a whisper, and does nothing to satisfy her hunger - or his. The second is warmer, longer, more meaningful - and then the third takes her breath away, because it comes with him moving closer, his fingers winding all the way through her hair. She slips an arm around his neck and holds onto his shoulder, gasping as he lingers on her bottom lip for a moment before pulling away, messy brown locks brushing against her forehead. "Hm," he says, quietly, as their eyes open, "not bad."

"Narumi-san," she murmurs, dazed and blushing, "if… if you hadn't just done that… I might have really hit you."

He grins, and she knows that it's all over, that there's only one thing she can focus on now, only one purpose she has for living - and it's him, just as she always wanted it to be.

He really does love her, after all.

"I'm tired," he murmurs, with a short sigh, his fingers still toying with her hair, his eyes fixed on hers. "And any minute now, my brother is going to come barging in here, yelling about something or another, and you'll have to leave."

"Do you want me to - ?"

"No. Not at all." He leans close again. "Not until I make up for some more lost time, at least."

She giggles nervously, but she doesn't have any objections. And when it comes to Ayumu kissing her, she doesn't think she _ever _will.

* * *

Yui doesn't have much luck sleeping that night.

It's nearly midnight when she hears the familiar chirp of her phone, and she rolls off her futon to retrieve it, her heart immediately starting to beat a little faster. She has to be at work in seven hours, but somehow she'd known that she would get a message from him, and she'd wanted to wait.

_Was that a dream?_

She smiles, laughs softly, and composes a message to send back.

_I don't think so, unless you're asking about something else that happened today._

Her phone is silent and still for nearly a minute - and then it begins to ring and she nearly shrieks in the dark, caught completely off guard. When she answers, it's with an unsteady voice and a shaky hand. "H - hello, Narumi-san."

He speaks quietly, probably to avoid getting in any kind of trouble. "That really happened?" he asks.

"... yes," she answers, softly, and starts to wonder if maybe it was a mistake, if he hadn't meant to kiss her or ask her to stay -

"Good," he says, and her heart beats a little faster, a warm feeling growing in her chest. "Although I hadn't really planned on saying anything yet, I'm glad I did. Even if it was under the influence of morphine."

"So… you don't regret anything?"

"No," he answers quickly. "Do you?"

"Not at all." She smiles, cradling the phone closer to her ear. His voice just isn't the same, right now, hoarse and distorted by the phone, but she loves it anyway, wants to hear it even more than she already does. Something about the way he speaks just seems right, to her. "It made me very happy to know Narumi-san's true feelings."

"Heh. I figured you would say that."

"And now I know that the secret to getting you to talk is to give you morphine."

"... that's not funny."

She laughs anyway, closing her eyes, and rolls onto her back. "After some of the other things you said earlier… I think I have to catch up on my jokes a little bit."

"Hm. Maybe." There's a pause, and she hears him exhale into the phone, his voice growing softer when he finally speaks again. "You're really going to stay, then?"

"As long as you'll let me, Narumi-san."

"Good." She can hear the smile in his voice. "Tomorrow, then."

"Tomorrow," she agrees. "Good night."

"Good night," he says; then, with warmth in his voice, "Hiyono."

She closes her phone, places it beside her futon, and closes her eyes. And as she lies there in the dark, she makes a mental note to ask Kiyotaka for a favor - one that involves changing her name again, for good this time.

She'd say goodbye to Yui, but she's not going anywhere. She and Hiyono have been the same person, all this time. The only difference - the only one that matters - is that the person she loves chose to call her one name instead of the other.

And truthfully, secretly, she's always preferred Hiyono, anyway.

* * *

**Author's note:** You might want to read my short fic "different names for the same thing" now... because it takes place after this chapter! I would have mentioned that earlier, but I didn't want to give anything away. :)

Thanks to everyone who's followed this or left reviews recently. I'm so glad to know there are still Spiral fans out there.


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